Slade Slaymaker is a kid from Alabama suddenly lost in a vicious world beyond his imagining, a world of marauding ant armies, spellcasting spider witches, and beetle-riding barbarians. A kingdom of tiny but deadly warriors hidden in his own backyard. The same world that saw his father eaten alive by insects now plunges young Slade into the middle of a brutal Bug War to decide the fate of his family. Bug Wars #1 is an interesting debut that takes the familiar concept of two warring factions and shrinks it down to fit in your backyard.
Written by Jason Aaron, Bug Wars #1 is an interesting debut. It’s good, really well done. But at the same time I didn’t walk away excited for the next issue. But, I also want to see a bit more and find out about this world and the mysteries teased. The debut issue takes readers through the world and the kingdoms of tiny warriors that hide in the backyard. It’s not quite what you think, of just various insects battling out, there’s also humanoid beings that are part of the battle using those insects as tools and pawns in their battle. How these kingdoms exist, really what their deal is, is slightly explained but for the most part readers will just need to accept there’s these tiny beings.
It’s also the story of a young boy who is sucked into the war through some kind of magic, a boy who just so happens to be into insects, like his deceased father. And that’s the more interesting aspect of the story. Through the kingdoms and the fantasy battles, there’s a mystery of a dead father, seemingly killed by bugs, and that father’s obsession with bugs. It’s clear there’s some connection to these small kingdoms and the father, but exactly what is unclear.
The comic is also not one for the squeamish. If you have an issue with bugs, then it’s best to avoid this. Mahmud Asrar‘s art gets interesting with some rather detailed depictions of the tiny creatures, even more so than the tiny kingdoms. There’s absolutely moments that if you have any problems with multi-legged critters walking over you, you might want to skip this. The comic does do a nice balance of that and the world it presents with a lot of detail that really fleshes out what’s going on in the world. You get a sense of the worn down house and the creatures that have taken over. Asrar is joined by Matthew Wilson on color which creates a rather dirty and grimy feel to the art and Becca Carey‘s lettering which adds to the at times fear and rage.
Bug Wars #1 is an interesting start. There’s an intriguing concept here and potential for something that might defy genres a bit. Overall, it’s a start that has me wanting to come back and see what the second issue delivers but it’s also one that doesn’t have me completely pumped to see what’s next.
Story: Jason Aaron Art: Mahmud Asrar
Color: Matthew Wilson Letterer: Becca Carey
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
